Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Senior Drivers’ Risk of Accidents Increases with Age

Senior citizens are at a much greater risk of accidents, a fact not unknown to any Los Angeles car accident lawyer. However, a new study by the Australian National University shows that senior drivers’ risk of making serious driving errors and being involved in accidents increases substantially with the senior’s age, even when they are otherwise healthy.

Researchers followed 266 volunteers who were given a driving test. The subjects were between 70 and 88. All the motorists in the study were of sound mental and physical health. They did not suffer from dementia, and they all lived independent lives. They were also regular drivers, driving at least once a week.

During the 12-mile driving test, there was a driving instructor and an occupational therapist. The occupational therapist’s role was to note down the number of critical driving errors made, including speeding, and tailgating.

The researchers found that seniors between the age of 70 and 74 made an average of one critical driving error. However in the case of seniors between the age of 85 and 89, the number of average driving errors increased to four.

Also, the chances of making a driving error increased depending on whether the driver had been involved in an accident before. A crash in the past five years seemed to substantially increase the senior’s risk of making a critical driving error.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the year 2009, the United States had 33 million people over the age of 65 operating motor vehicles. Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that in 2008, there were 30 fatal accidents for every 100,000 licensed drivers above the age of 75. In comparison, among drivers between the age of 65 and 74, there were just 20 fatal accidents in the same span of time.

Very often, Los Angeles car accident attorneys find that medication use, dementia and other factors are responsible for senior driver-related accidents. However, this study shows that even seemingly healthy drivers can make serious driving errors that can lead to an accident.

senior drivers are more likely to receive traffic citations and get into accidents than younger drivers b’cuz senior drivers are often viewed as a hazard on the roads. Statistics show a rise of fatalities, traffic violations and serious injuries caused by senior citizens that should not be driving.

Road accidents caused by older drivers is growing every year and so do the challenges.

In support of Driver Safety Program – lets us bring awareness in senior citizen drivers about mature driver improvement course or 55 alive driving course to improve driving skills on road, refresh their driving knowledge and updates them on latest traffic rules and regulation that help keep older drivers and their families safe behind the wheel.

when the person is older the reflexes goes slower.. we should limit the drivers age in order to have less accidents in the road.. keep on driving as long as you feel that you are driving safely with my blessings.